Washington, D.C., March 24, 2009 (LAWFUEL) – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the expected panelists for its April 15 roundtable relating to its oversight of credit rating agencies.
The roundtable will be held at the SEC’s Washington, D.C., headquarters and will begin at 10 a.m. ET with opening remarks from SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro.
“The roundtable will thoroughly review relevant aspects of regulating credit rating agencies,” said Chairman Schapiro. “Insight from leading experts on credit rating agencies and the financial markets will assist the Commission as it continues to pursue aggressive oversight of the industry.”
Discussion topics will include issues related to recent SEC rulemaking initiatives, such as conflicts of interest, competition, and transparency. The roundtable will consist of four panels.
Roundtable participants will include leaders from investor organizations, financial services associations, credit rating agencies, and academia.
10:10 a.m. – Panel One: Current NRSRO Perspectives: What Went Wrong and What Corrective Steps Is the Industry Taking?
Daniel Curry, DBRS
Sean Egan, Egan-Jones Ratings
Stephen Joynt, Fitch Ratings
Raymond McDaniel, Moody’s Investor Service
Deven Sharma, Standard & Poor’s
11:30 a.m. – Panel Two: Competition Issues: What are Current Barriers to Entering the Credit Rating Agency Industry?
Ethan Berman, RiskMetrics Group
James H. Gellert, RapidRatings
George Miller, American Securitization Forum
Frank Partnoy, University of San Diego
Alex Pollock, American Enterprise Institute
Damon Silvers, AFL-CIO
Lawrence J. White, New York University
12:30 p.m. – Lunch Break
1:15 p.m. – Panel Three: Users’ Perspectives
Deborah A. Cunningham, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
Alan J. Fohrer, Southern California Edison
Christopher Gootkind, Wellington Management
James Kaitz, Association of Financial Professionals
Kurt N. Schacht, CFA Institute
Bruce Stern, Association of Financial Guaranty Insurers
Paul Schott Stevens, Investment Company Institute
2:45 p.m. – Panel Four: Approaches to Improve Credit Rating Agency Oversight
Richard Baker, Managed Funds Association
Jörgen Holmquist, European Commission
Mayree C. Clark, Aetos Capital
Joseph A. Grundfest, Stanford Law School
Glenn Reynolds, CreditSights
Stephen Thieke, Group of Thirty
The roundtable is expected to end at approximately 4:15 p.m. with concluding remarks by Erik R. Sirri, Director of the SEC’s Division of Trading & Markets.
In the fall of 2006, Congress passed the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act, providing the SEC for the first time with authority to supervise credit rating agencies. Using this authority that became effective in June 2007, the Commission has adopted two major rulemakings, has conducted an extensive 10-month examination of three major credit rating agencies, and has several pending proposals to further the Act’s purpose of promoting accountability, transparency, and competition in the rating industry.
The roundtable will be held in the auditorium at the SEC’s headquarters at 100 F Street, NE, in Washington, D.C. The roundtable will be open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. The roundtable also will be webcast on the SEC Web site.
For additional information about the roundtable, contact Marlon Q. Paz in the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets at (202) 551-5756.
